My Other Creations: The Book of Not So Bright Ideas

The setting: junior high art class.  The new kid, Dustin, was trying to pick up some extra income before lunch.  The veteran kid, Rick, was bored.  In a moment that would prove catastrophic for Dustin's nostrils from then on, Rick pulled a vial of Binaca out of his pocket (if you don't remember Binaca, it was this super-intense breath freshener spray).  Rick looked at Dustin and said, "I'll give you a nickel if you spray Binaca up your nose."  As we all shook our heads in the universal sign for "no," Dustin said, "Sure!"  I won't go into the gory details, but Dustin had red eyes and a runny nose for the next two days.  And while I didn't request the extra info, he also said he was pretty sure all of his nose hairs were burned off.  Worth a nickel?  Um, no.

But we humans, because we are humans, do things all the time that are not exactly brilliant.  And so to honor Dustin and myself and everyone else who has done some pretty "duh" stuff, I created this book of "Not So Bright Ideas" in response to this weeks' challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog.

I started out with a tin that had a clear plastic rectangle window on the front.  I cut out the plastic piece and assembled some fabric to use.

I covered the tin with fabric scraps and threw on a few strips of Washi tape for good measure.  I wanted to use a light bulb to symbolize ideas, but since I wasn't celebrating bright ideas, I wanted to make the light bulb look like it was leaking out blackness instead of light.  Using a makeup sponge, I dabbed some StayzOn black ink to the light bulb's surface (StayzOn is made for non-porous surfaces, including glass).  Then I took Heidi Swapp's Black Velvet Color Shine Spritz and sprayed a blob of it behind where my light bulb would go.

I adhered the light bulb to the tin and let it dry.  I tore off some background fabric scraps and adhered them to a blank Bo Bunny "Miscellaneous Me" collection binder.  I cut out some tickets from the My Mind's Eye "Find Your Wings and Fly" collection, then used alphabet stamps to spell out the book's title.  I accented the tickets with paperclips.

I also added a "secret message" to the inside of the tin that can open up like a little door.

As for the inside of the book, there are so many non-bright ideas to choose from that it's hard to know where to begin!  I decided to start with the bad idea that inspired this project: my friend who ate an egg that was fried by a street vendor on a downtown sidewalk where thousands of feet (some bare) walk everyday.  Not that I'd want to eat a sidewalk-fried egg under any circumstances, but a downtown sidewalk just up's the ick factor by about 200%.  My friend was sick for days, so here's the page I created to honor him:

There are more details to the story, of course, but I didn't want to shame my friend so blatantly on the internet, so I just shown here the main page without the journaling on the back.  I used ink, paint, fabric, stamps and yellow ink spray to make the center look a little like a spilled yolk.  Here are some of the supplies I used that you can get at Simon Says Stamp:

Bo Bunny Kraft Misc. Me Binder	Bo Bunny C′Est La Vie Misc Me Binder Dividers	Bo Bunny Vintage Note Papers	Heidi Swapp Black Velvet Color Shine	Dylusions Ink Sprays - Lemon Zest	Tim Holtz Peacock Feathers Distress Ink	Tim Holtz Mowed Lawn Distress Ink
Ranger Archival Ink Black	Dylusions Ink Spray In White Linen	Fancy Pants Pattern Stencils	MME Find Your Wings and Fly

 
I'm already thinking of the next pages, all inspired by my own or my friends' stupidity: testing the sharpness of an electric razor on your tongue, eating an entire bag of jalapeno Jelly Belly's before riding the roller coaster, trying on a pair of your grandpa's prescription glasses and then walking down the stairs...let's just say I left plenty of blank pages!

The Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog never ceases to inspire.  And you could win $50 to the Simon Says Stamp store just by entering your inspired creation!  Give it a try because that would be a very bright idea.